In a 2010 interview, David Sylvian was asked to identify how his experience of the East had influenced him as a human being. ‘I think it affected me in ways that have been so completely absorbed and assimilated that it’s hard for me to comprehend the degree to which I’ve been influenced by my engagement with Eastern culture,’ was the preface to his reply. ‘I might point to the influence of Zen Buddhism and, to a lesser extent, Shintoism and the guiding roles they’ve played in my personal evolution. The beautiful artifice of popular culture and the mutability of persona. The embrace of one’s masculinity and femininity on equal terms, without conflict.
‘Then there are the friendships which grew over time with Japanese artists, musicians, composers, all of whom hold an important place in my heart. Musicians and collaborators such as Ryuichi Sakamoto, Toru Takemitsu, Otomo Yoshihide, Toshimaru Nakamura and, more recently, Dai Fujikura. Visual artists such as Shinro Ohtake, Shinya Fujiwara and Atsushi Fukui. I found a compatible aesthetic in many aspects of their work, particularly with Ryuichi, which reflected my own. I found a community of contemporaries in Japan which I failed to find in my own homeland.’
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